Belkzen

The orc warlord Belkzen was a tribal leader in Northern Avistan who led his people to victory against the dwarf army stationed at the Sky CitadelKoldukar and forged the region now known as the Hold of Belkzen.

After the Dwarven Quest for Sky, the dwarves made a concerted effort to wipe out the orcs from the face of Golarian. After driving one particular tribe into a mountain valley, the orcs rallied under the leadership of an ambitious warlord named Belkzen. Driven by ambition and revenge, they fought back with the intent on reclaiming their lost holdings and drive the dwarves back underground. His determination and success rallied thousands of orcs under his banner of a black sun.[1]

The orc horde quickly reached and besieged the Sky CitadelKoldukar, crushing the dwarven army stationed there. The engagement, know as the Battle of Nine Stones proved decisive, and allowed Belkzen's horde to overrun the citadel and slaughter the inhabitants within.

With the citadel in his power, Belkzen consolidated his position by fortifying Koldukar and renaming it Urgir (meaning "First Home" in Orcish). He then expanded his holdings, claiming and pillaging nearby settlements and attracting other orcs to his growing empire. Despite several incursions by venegeful dwarves, Belkzen held Urgir against his foes.

Belkzen proved a cunning, if brutal, leader. With his position secure against his dwarven foes, he understood that he needed to control his own people. In the absense of an enemy to rally against, he established a simple set of 'laws' to control his tribe. Murder was punishable with torture, execution, and sacrifice of the murderer to Rovagug, in addition to ten of the murderers tribe. In the case of rebellious orc warlords from other tribes, Belkzen would have the orc brought to him and publicly disemboweled. These laws were flexible on occasions, and the actual punishment tended to depend on political considerations and the temperment of Belkzen at the time. Furthermore, they were not entirely successful at preventing attempted coups and assassination attempts. Nevertheless, Belkzen's empire survived and after two decades of these 'laws', the orcs became more willing to follow the commands of Belkzen and for the first (and only) time be considered a united orc nation.[2]

The fate of Belkzen is unknown. Most assume him to have died, but the orcs themselves claim he 'vanished' to single handedly assail the other Sky Citadels.

Most obviously, the region under Belkzen's rule became known as the Hold of Belkzen, and has remained so to this day. The successors to Belkzen's empire enjoyed temporary success over the orcs, but did not possess Belkzen's ability to rule, and over several generations their control over the orc tribes outside of Urgir disintegrated.[3]